The Cat that walks Alone
by Ja-Kha'jay
Summary: An extension of Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi, this was written as an ingame book for the Elsweyr Confederacy Project at Silgrad Tower


The Cat that walks alone.

By Clan Mother Ri'rassi.

Come, favoured daughter, there is much to learn. You have always been restless, and long to leave this place. You have seen Ahnissi's words, and know them well, and yet you do not know all.

In the beginning, Ahnurr and Fadomai gave birth to three litters. Khenarthi of the first litter was the eldest daughter of Fadomai, like you, my favoured daughter, are my first. But Azurah of Fadomai's third litter was her favoured daughter. Nirni and Khenarthi were jealous of Azurah.

When Azurah took Nirni's forest people and made the Khajiit, Nirni was angry. Nirni wanted to make the desert hot and the sands biting, so that the Khajiit would always be hungry. She asked Khenarthi, to whom Fadomai gave the wind, to help her.

"Does Khenarthi-sister want to be good sister-friend to Nirni? Help Nirni punish nasty Azurah's favored people for her selfish trick?"

And Khenarthi said, "Yes, Khenarthi will help Nirni. For Khenarthi should have been Fadomai's favoured daughter, as Khenarthi was her first. Khenarthi will make the winds blow hard so they strip the very fur from their skins.

And the winds followed the walkers everywhere they went so that they could not see and they became lost and began walking in circles. They walked in circles for so long that the winds sucked all the moisture from that land, and the soil dried up and blew away...

And so the desert came, hot and windy, and the Khajiit suffered in the stinging sands. Nirni, who was so angry that she did not care how the land suffered so long as the Khajiit hurt too, watched as the Khajiit perished in the flaying sandstorms.

But the Khajiit prayed. They prayed to Alkosh, and Mara, and Magrus. But nothing happened, and the Khajiit despaired.

S'rendarr, the merciful cat, saw the Khajiit suffering and he took pity on them.

"Khenarthi," he said. "Why do you make them suffer so, can you not hear them calling out to you? You are no better than noisy Lorkaj for doing this"

And he opened Khenarthi's ears to the prayers of the Khajiit.

"Khenarthi," they said. "Why are you punishing us? We have done nothing wrong. Why are you punishing us?"

And Khenarthi thought to herself, "Why am I punishing them, they have done nothing wrong." And Khenarthi felt disgusted with herself. And she stopped the winds from making the sand fly so hard.

Nirni was angry when Khenarthi stopped the winds and she cursed her older sister to always be alone. And Khenarthi wept, as she watched Nirni make nasty creatures to torment the Khajiit.

And so Khenarthi went to Alkosh and spoke, "Alkosh-brother, can you turn back time so Khenarthi can stop herself from making the mistake of helping Nirni? Khenarthi would be a good friend to Alkosh?"

And Alkosh said, "No, dear sister. Everyone must learn from their mistakes, all of Fadomai's children included. You alone must forgive yourself." He said.

And so Khenarthi resolved to make something for the Khajiit. She granted one of her favoured Priestesses with a divine vision. She had the priestess craft an artifact and hide it in the desert, to help the Khajiit survive Nirni's wrath.

The artifact was a ring, so small a trinket with such a power. They say it could make you run like the wind, and gives off water, always trickling.

And when Nirni found out, she swallowed the artifact deep into herself, so no one ever found it. Not even the great Rajhin!

But Khenarthi had one last trick up her budi. Using her power over the wind she whittled down a part of Nirni's body into her divine form, as a marker for her gift. It took so many phases that Nirni did not find out.

Now, Clan Mother Ri'rassi knows not if Khenarthi's landmark exists, for she has not looked for it, but should any of Clan Mother Ri'rassi's litter find this artifact, Clan Mother Ri'rassi thinks this would make Khenarthi very happy and that kitten would also bask forever in the warmth Ri'rassi's regard.


End file.
